ZIMBABWE: UNICEF pushes for broader AIDS care

JOHANNESBURG, 2 May 2006 (PlusNews) - The UN Children's Fund (Unicef) Goodwill Ambassador, Angelique Kidjo, has called for greater attention to be focused on children living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe.

Kidjo made the statement during a recent visit to the Children's Hospital in the capital, Harare, where she spent an afternoon with some of the country's 115,000 HIV-positive children.

"The stories of these children are both heartbreaking and inspiring," she said. "They are living in pain, they are often orphaned, and the world seems more interested in their country's politics than these children's plight."

UNICEF has estimated that 550 Zimbabwean children die of AIDS-related illnesses and a further 565 become infected with HIV every week, while fewer than 5,000 children have access to appropriate care and treatment.